Tag Archives: Bible

Who’s Winning Now? *victorious laugh*

Posted by Steve on

There have been lots of epic battles in the history of the world: the Spartans versus King Xerxes’ Persian army, Napoleon’s army versus the English at Waterloo, Heaven versus Hell, Duke versus Carolina…the list goes on and on.  All great material for movies and books, to be sure.

One of the “epic battles” that is talked about frequently among Christians is the battle between fear and faith.  There are a lot of Bible verses to quote and sermons to reference and songs to sing in regard to this battle, but rarely is one pointed to Genesis 32.  Jacob has been living with his father-in-law, Laban, and is finally returning to his homeland—but he has some hesitations about his brother, Esau.  Twenty years earlier, Jacob conned Esau out of his inheritance as the firstborn son, and ran off with the blessing of their father, Isaac.  Twenty years is a long time for an offense to grow, and Jacob’s not looking forward to his brother’s reception.

In verse 11, Jacob reveals what’s going on in his heart: “Save me…I am afraid.”  I can almost see the flashing red and blue lights of the faith police in the distance.  Jacob has made himself perfect sermon material for what NOT to do!  Yet what he says in verse 12 turns everything on its head: “But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”  He admitted fear, asked for protection, and then he clung to the promises of God and sent the faith police back home.

Jacob was afraid.  That should be a relief to all of us Christians who have been trying to pretend like we’re not scared of anything because we’re “not supposed to be.”  I’m not at all trying to advocate fear or make light of courage—we truly do have a God whose love for us is perfect and complete, whose protection is unfathomable and immovable, and whose power is more than capable of accomplishing far beyond anything we could ever imagine!  But the truth is, there are times in our lives when we find ourselves worried, anxious, or afraid.  What we have to know in those times is that our faith is not determined by the state of our emotions; our faith is determined by the course of our actions.  I can have a huge amount of boldness in my heart, but never actually walk in faith.  Or, like Jacob, I can be fearful…but faithful.

It’s not wrong or ignorant to feel fear.  What’s wrong and ignorant is to allow fear to keep you from faith in God’s promises.  The line of faith is always on the far side of fear, and we have to step over our worries to step into God’s promises.  So next time your knees want to knock, don’t try to fake courage.  Accept it.  Admit it.  And then cling to God’s promises and let your actions lead your faith.

How and Why

Posted by Steve on

“And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted, for the sake of His people Israel.”
-1 Chronicles 14:2

It’s a good day when you’re appointed king.  At least, I assume so—I haven’t been appointed king over anything, unless I appointed myself (I take after King Julien).  And while most of us haven’t been appointed king, we probably have been appointed to something.  You may have been appointed an employee.  You may have been appointed a raise.  You may have been appointed a good grade.  You may have been appointed a leader.  You may have been appointed a friend.

Whatever it is, we’ve all been appointed to some sort of position, regardless of how it’s esteemed.  So, this passage has two huge reminders for us in regards to our position, our status, our situation, our job, our leadership, our friendship, and every other opportunity we can be appointed to:

  1. The Lord establishes us.  David knew he wasn’t king because of what he’d done.  Sure, he had a great track record, and the people were in love with him, but he knew that ultimately, it was God who put him in the position he was in.  I have to remember that too, because when I don’t, I start taking credit for the successes.  The obvious problem with that is that I become prideful and selfish, and end up inhibiting my influence and prohibiting my progress.  That’s a serious enough problem on its own!  But the less obvious issue with forgetting that God establishes me, wherever I’m at and whatever I’m doing, is that I also start taking credit for the failures.  If I establish myself, I’m bound to become prideful, but I am also bound to become depressed: my identity and attitude become wrapped up in the performance of my establishment, rather than the power of God’s grace.  Jesus took our failures when he died on the cross, and gave us his victories when he rose from the grave!  As long as I let HIM establish me, and give HIM the credit, I can trust that no matter what happens—success or failure—it’s in HIS hands, and not mine.  David fought lots of battles, but he knew that he was only responsible for how they started—either by God’s establishment, or his own—-not how they ended. When the Lord establishes you, you get to live worry-free!
  2.  It’s for the sake of His people.  David’s kingdom was exalted, but not because he was a great king who earned some recognition.  He worked hard, fought well, and received tribute from tons of different nations.  But the scripture says he was exalted “for the sake of [God's] people Israel.”  I can be a big nobody, or a big somebody, but whatever position I’m in, it’s for the sake of God’s people.  He has a plan and a purpose for my life, and to understand it clearly and steward it faithfully, I need to remember that it’s not for me or because of me that I am who/what/where I am…it’s for, and because of, God.  Without this truth driving our circle of influence, everything we do becomes self-serving.  We have a natural tendency to make everything about US!  God knows this—that’s why there’s so much in the Bible about the reward we’re promised in heaven after living a faithful life to the end!  But we have a choice: to stake our claim in what’s “here and now,” or what’s there and then.  The “there and then” is promised to be a lot better. We just have to make sure that we remember that what’s “here and now”—our current position—is for the sake of HIS people.  As long as we live with that in mind, we’ll serve more willingly, give more generously, lead more confidently, live less anxiously, love less conditionally…and reap the reward at the end!
Let the Lord establish you, so that you can trust him for the power and the outcome.  And let him establish you for the sake of his people, so that you can live purposefully and store up treasures in heaven as you go wherever he leads.

Being and Doing

Posted by Steve on

“‘Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.’”
-Ezra 10:4

The Israelites vowed to be with Ezra…and for Ezra, it was time to get up and DO.

Sometimes life is risky, uncomfortable, surprising, wearisome, unclear, heavy, confusing, stressful, or emotional.  And it’s easy to overlook what other people are going through when you’re going through things yourself.  It seems to be too much work to involve yourself too deeply in the  lives of others.  You don’t have enough time to get what YOU need to get done, let alone helping someone else.  There is an emotional demand in partnering with the life of someone else.

But it’s time to stop overlooking.  It’s time to be with someone.

Be with them in their struggles.  Be with them in their victories.  Be with them in their questions and their answers.  We are called to love one another in humility…and humility is thinking less of yourself and making much of others.  You can’t solve the problem for them, but you can encourage them to arise, and to have courage, and to act.  You don’t have to put your life on hold and ignore everything that’s happening on your end of things.  But if you lead by example in being with someone and encouraging them to do what only they can do, not only will you bless their lives with the kindness and faithfulness of Christ, you’ll have at least one person who knows exactly what to do when you need someone with you!

Sometimes life is difficult, overwhelming, dangerous, scary, fast, exhausting, relentless, uncertain, or unexpected.  And it’s easy to come up with excuses for not doing what you know needs to be done.  There are some things that have been on your to-do list for weeks.  There are some things you’ve been doubting for no real, good reason.  There are some things that God has been burdening you with that you’ve been trying to ignore.

But it’s time to stop making excuses.  It’s time to get up and DO.

Do what you know you should have done awhile ago.  Do what has been keeping you up at night.  Do what you are called to do, even if no one else is doing it.  No one can live your life for you.  What is on your heart is your responsibility.  You don’t have to do it alone—the Lord is faithful to those who are zealous for His will—but you do have to do it.  Our God is a God of victory, and of hope, and of provision, and of redemption.  We have NO REASON to not go ALL OUT for HIS GLORY.

Six Questions for the Ministerial-Minded

Posted by Steve on

I recently asked the small group leaders at 24-7 to ask six questions during their planning, and I thought I would share them with the internet world and expand on them a little bit… (almost all of them can be applied in some way to any area of ministry, so this may be applicable to everyone who is not a small group leader too!)

  1. Does it bring God glory and make much of Him? If what we are doing isn’t first and foremost bringing glory to God, then it is inevitably bringing glory to something else, and is no longer leading people TO His throne, but leading them AWAY from it.  It is really easy to include God without making it about God.  Instead of looking first at our lives and then searching for how God relates to them, we ought to look at God first, and then see how our lives relate to Him.  This keeps us focused on the fact that man was made in God’s image, and not the other way around!  Too often people live lives that include God but do not require Him…the first step in changing that is to model it in our own lives, and then to make it a foundational part of our ministry!
  2. Does it help people know God in a deeper and more relevant way? If we are not helping to lead people into a deeper relationship with God, we’re probably not leading them anywhere helpful at all.  A leader’s purpose is not to do things for others, but to help others get to a place in which they can do things for themselves.  If you aren’t continually encouraging and challenging people, you are actually building up glory for yourself by keeping them reliant on you to give them what they need.  Instead, we’ve got to lead in such a way that eventually makes us unnecessary because those we’ve been leading have become self-sustaining.
  3. Does it challenge people to live in greater integrity? We’ve got to make it a point to have people seek God’s approval, rather than man’s.  Many churches have made it far too easy to look Godly without being Godly, and that may be because they’ve forgotten that people aren’t held accountable to the church—they’re held accountable to God, who sees their hearts and knows their motives.  The world can’t be changed by liars…which is what we’re letting people be when we let them come to church and get involved in ministry without challenging them to be filled with the Spirit and live as they are called.
  4. Does it inspire people to make a heavenly impact on the world? The church isn’t a social club, it’s an army!  God gave us victory over every power and principality of the world, and yet many Christians keep that victory inside the walls of a building instead of storming the gates of hell and bringing the good news to the world in both word AND power.  Christianity can’t be allowed to settle as self-help…that’s an insult to the power of God that raised Christ from the dead (which is in you, by the way!).  Tekmito Adegemo said, “We cannot preach good news and be bad news,” and it’s bad news if the people who claim to love and serve a God of life, peace, hope, joy, and justice don’t do anything to bring those things into the world in a HUGE WAY!  Jesus said that we would make a greater impact on the world than even He did…so we’ve got to lead people into that promise and do everything we can to raise up people who are relentlessly in love with Christ and obsessed with a hope for the world.
  5. Does it create opportunity for vulnerability? It was the broken, the hungry, the sick, and the rejected that Jesus went to.  And I think there’s a whole lot more people who are broken, hungry, sick, and rejected than we perceive.  But it’s sometimes hard to admit that.  There are walls that are often built really high, and really thick, in people’s hearts…and those walls keep them from moving forward.  Leaders need to create an atmosphere of forgiveness if they want others to really start growing and dealing with their issues.  Grace has got to be our greatest asset.  And we need to not only notify people of grace, but give them opportunities to experience it for themselves by encouraging honesty and openness.
  6. Is it encouraging to people? JESUS IS GOOD NEWS! There is no reason anyone should be able to be around Christians and not be encouraged.  It makes sense that if we want people to grow, we ought to always be building them up!  A leader’s encouragement can act as fuel for a person’s progress.  There is always something in a person that is worth our encouragement…if there wasn’t Jesus wouldn’t have died for them!  We have to draw the purpose out of people and help them to discover and step into their gifts and talents.  And we’ve got to do everything we can to lighten their spirits, energize their minds, and inspire their hearts every time we get a chance!

“You Chose Wisely…”

Posted by Steve on

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…”
Ephesians 1:11

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Colossians 3:12

“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you…”
1 Thessalonians 1:4

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9

God does not simply ALLOW people into His kingdom.  There is no one who is part of the body of Christ who wasn’t expected, or who God had to make room for.  Each one of us is CHOSEN, and each one of us has a PURPOSE in the Kingdom.  God had (and always will have!) a REASON for choosing you.  And even if it feels like there is no visible or tangible evidence of God’s purpose or reason in choosing you, remember…sometimes the INvisible and the INtangible things are the most POWERFUL, and serve in the ways closest to the spiritual workings of the Holy Spirit.

Live your life with confidence that there is something God has chosen YOU, over everyone else in the world, to do, and that you are an important and vital part of the body of Christ, because…

God does not choose poorly!

Sunday school Alumni

Posted by Steve on

Very rarely do I hear any pastors preach from the most common Bible stories anymore – those stories are apparently only suitable to Sunday school.  I am just as guilty of this, I am incredibly disinclined to speak on the teachings found in stories like Jonah and the Ark, the fall, or David and Goliath.  Why is that? Is it perhaps because these stories seem childish to us, because they were taugh to us when we were children?  Is it maybe because these stories seem old, and there is nothing more to be drawn from them than what has been already?  Do these stories seem to simple, with not enough deep insight to wring out of non-descript verses?  Are they too plain?

I think that they are not too plain – they are too clear.  While the “moral of the story” seems obvious to us, it is for that reason that we avoid it; we don’t want to make the sacrifices those characters made, we don’t want to give up what they gave for the sake of the kingdom, we don’t want to have to face the trials that they faced (which we KNOW are in our lives, but hope that they might go away if they’re ignored).

These “most popular” Bible stories may seem childish, old, and simple.  Yet we need faith like a child (Lk 18:16), we need to be reminded of what we know more often than we need to be taught something new (1Ch 16:12), and devotion to Christ is a simple and pure thing (2Co 11:3).

How things work

Posted by Steve on

Everybody wants to look good.  Everybody wants to feel good.  And everybody knows that living a healthy lifestyle is what accomplishes both things (and if you didn’t, now you do).  Exercise, healthy eating habits, and so on and so forth, there’s a lot of things that go into living a healthy lifestyle, but it’s not too complex of an idea.  There are countless books and instructional videos and internet sites and television shows that are dedicated to saying the same thing.  And it’s extremely possible, common in fact, for people who live healthy lifestyles to be ignorant of the biological processes that make them look and feel good.  People do not need to know the science behind how fat is burned and turned into energy, and they do not care about the details of cellular division and growth in building muscle.  (Generally,) People are only concerned with whether these things are happening or not, and not how they are happening.

Theology and apologetics are such largely discussed and debated topics, and I wonder if they’re really so vital to being a Christian?  Surely they are necessary to an extent—but as Derek Webb says, “Systematic theology is only beneficial to us insofar as God is systematic, and He is not…if our theology does not at some point turn into ethics, then it is of no value to us.”

It’s nice to know what I believe and why I believe it.  But it seems to me that it was the Pharisees who were constantly concerned with the details of the Law, and attempting to debate with Jesus over fine points and interpretations and such.  And I am beginning to believe that I try to “contextualize” and “interpret” scripture and make it “relevant to the times” simply because I am afraid of what it would mean if I took it seriously.  I am starting to think that maybe I try to dig beneath the surface of the gospels just because I want to stick my head in the sand.  Perhaps we spend all this time interpreting and explaining and debating and discussing and researching and teaching because we are scared.

Call me crazy, but I think God probably inspired the Bible to say exactly what it says.

And a large majority of people who claim to be Christians today are so concerned with how things happen, instead of whether they are happening or not.  We obsess over the “biological processes” of the Christian faith.  We’re all well-read and quite opinionated about all sorts of details and fine points to Christianity, like whether people should be baptized in a pool or from a bowl, whether it’s okay or not to play drums in a church, if it’s okay to drink alcohol, what the line is for lust, predestination, the elect, the second coming, and that’s great if you’re into that stuff.  But where is the life that Jesus has called us to?  We know all about exercise, but we’re not getting any.

It is time to stop concerning ourselves with the minute workings of Christian faith and start living it.  The lost do not care about the spiritual technicalities of how salvation is achieved, and they do not need to know whether or not God knows the future.  They want to see the effect Jesus Christ has had on our lives.  They want to see results.  And for that to happen, we need to stop burying ourselves under “interpreting” and “contextualizing” and making scripture “relevant to the times,” and actually stand on the surface of what God has given us.

The matter is quite simple.  The Bible is very easy to understand.  But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers.  We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.  Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly.  My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined.  How would I ever get on in the world?  Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship.  Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close.  Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you?  Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God.

Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard.

More Than I Expect

Posted by Steve on

The story of Jesus feeding five thousand (although including women and children it was probably in the area of fifteen thousand, if there were five thousand men) is a common one, I heard it plenty of times growing up in Sunday school, but I never cease to be amazed at God’s ability to reveal something new to me every time I read scripture, regardless of how familiar I am with the text.

I think that scripture is commonly thought of as, at best, well-written text with truthful life teachings. In the realm of Christianity it is also believed to be inspired by God. This is all well and good, and much can be taken from the Bible this way. But this also limits scripture to the words that are there, which begins to cause confusion when there are numerous versions and translations and some of them sound quite different than others, and it tends to make things a little blurry sometimes. And I’ve found that this common conception of scripture is, while not false, extremely basic…and there seems to be a lot more to it. How else could this be explained when I find something new every time I read it?

But the author of Hebrews says that “the word of God is living and active (Heb 4:12).” And this seems to be the only explanation for the things that it does. And when we look at scripture as well-written text, we are only looking at the skin—the outer surface—of this living, active breath of God (2Ti 3:16). There is an infinite complexity beneath the mere text of scripture, just as there are countless veins and arteries and nerves and organs that all work in different ways, doing different things, to keep the body alive. Scripture is alive, and too often I find myself satisfied with what I see on the surface. My God is so much bigger than just words.

Questions sparked by Jesus feeding the five thousand (specifically in Matthew 14:13-21, though it’s also found in Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14):

  • How far am I willing to go to be with Jesus? (v.13)
  • What excuses do I make to keep people from being with Jesus? (v.15)
  • When do I ask God to do something for me when he’s expecting me to take action? (v.16)
  • Do I let circumstances cause doubt, or do I have faith that Jesus will provide even when I have no idea how it can be done? (v.17)
  • Am I thankful for the things I have, even when I don’t think it’s adequate? (v.19)
  • Do I offer the gifts of God to others like the disciples gave away the food, or do I keep them for myself because I’m afraid they’ll run out? (v.20)
  • Do I ever doubt that regardless of who they are, God will provide more than they need? (v.21)